


wings are meant for flying

by Liliace



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (which he gets), Alternate Universe - Wings, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Genius Tony Stark, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man 1, Love Confessions, M/M, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liliace/pseuds/Liliace
Summary: Tony never showed his wings to anyone after getting back from Afghanistan. It wasn't noticeable, at first; it wasn't like there was much reason to parade them around. But after a few weeks had passed and Rhodey still hadn't caught a glimpse of them, he started to worry.--Wingfic (bc they're awesome) with a side of Tony/Rhodey (bc there's too little of it)





	wings are meant for flying

**Author's Note:**

> Hullo! I decided to post this after reading some protective!Rhodey fics, and I just really love their friendship okay.
> 
> Uh, the premise for this fic is basically that everyone has wings. And you can fly with them. That's all that's not explicitly stated in the fic, really. Hope you enjoy!

Tony never showed his wings to anyone after getting back from Afghanistan. It wasn't noticeable, at first; it wasn't like there was much reason to parade them around. But after a few weeks had passed and Rhodey still hadn't caught a glimpse of them, he started to worry.

It was natural that Tony would be changed after being kidnapped and tortured for three months, so Rhodey hadn't expected Tony to go back to behaving like he had before. So it was understandable that Tony didn't fly away from press meetings – not that he participated in many – or strut around with his wings fully out.

But Rhodey never saw them even in private, and there was a constant tightness to Tony's back. It took a while, but eventually Rhodey figured that said tension might have something to do with Tony's wings.

He called Pepper, who said that she hadn't seen them after Afghanistan either.

That was when Rhodey became seriously concerned.

He didn't bother calling Stane; he had never liked that man very much, and he was probably busy anyway, what with trying to do damage control after Tony's shocking announcement. Instead, Rhodey drove to Tony's place the first chance he got.

"Good evening, Colonel Rhodes. Sir is in the workshop," JARVIS announced upon his entry.

"Thanks," Rhodey said as he made his way there.

He tapped in his code at the door and just observed his surroundings for a moment. Everything appeared relatively normal, pretty much how things had looked prior to Tony's kidnapping. Some of the tech was different, naturally, but Rhodey didn't have time for closer inspection as Tony approached him.

"Hi, honeybear, what can I do for you?" Tony asked with a grin on his face.

Rhodey couldn't detect any actual humour or happiness in it.

"Just checking in," Rhodey said, looking Tony up and down. "What have you been working on?"

Instantly, Tony's grin turned slightly bitter. "The military sent you to check up on me, huh? Well, you can tell them that I'm still not building them any more weapons. I won't be doing that, no matter how nicely they ask – and they don't ask very nicely, now do they?"

"That's not it," Rhodey shook his head. "No one sent me. I'm just – I'm worried, Tones. You haven't been out much, and even Pepper is concerned. You know she never gets concerned without cause, Tony."

"I'm fine," Tony rolled his eyes. "You two need to relax – I should have some beer here to help with that, hold on."

Tony turned around to go look at his cooler, but Rhodey put his hands on Tony's shoulders and twirled him around. The tension in Tony's upper back had increased when Rhodey touched Tony, so he let hurriedly go when Tony was looking at him again.

"Tony," Rhodey said, completely seriously. "I'm fine with you not making more weapons. I might not be happy about it, but I'll deal. What I'm not fine with is you locking yourself away and bottling everything up inside."

Tony sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his hair. "You know I love you, Rhodey, but this – this is something I have to do myself."

There was a twinge in Rhodey's chest upon hearing the words 'I love you' from Tony again. He ignored it, though, as he did every other time something like that happened.

"Let me help," Rhodey said, his tone slightly pleading.

"'Myself', as in me, myself, and I," Tony said. "Seriously, Rhodey. I'll be fine."

"You don't need to tell me what you're doing," Rhodey said, "or even let me help with that. Just let me help you."

Tony frowned at him consideringly before nodding. "Alright then. You can help by telling Pepper that I'm fine."

"Tony," Rhodey said again, warningly this time.

"I can't – Rhodey," Tony shook his head. "I can't."

"Whatever it is, I can handle it," Rhodey said with conviction.

"I know," Tony said. He looked broken, like his heart or mind had shattered into pieces and his body was just waiting to follow.

Rhodey hated seeing Tony like that. That went without saying, though; Tony was his best friend, as well as the person Rhodey had been in love with for years.

"Tony," Rhodey said quietly, stepping closer to the other man. "Does it have something to do with your wings?"

Tony smiled, a brittle expression that had no place on a person who was supposed to be cheerful and grinning with excitement.

"Yeah," he said. "They're broken."

Rhodey breathed in sharply. That… That had not even been on the list of possibilities Rhodey had been writing mentally. Broken wings meant wings that couldn't fly anymore; it meant that you could never experience the freedom that came with flight.

And sure, some people didn't much care for flying anyway. But Rhodey loved it, and he knew that Tony adored it even more than he did. So to have his wings broken…

Once again, Rhodey cursed the kidnappers. He wanted to go out and find them, but he hadn't been able to get approval from his superiors and a lack of approval meant a lack of proper equipment.

"Show me," Rhodey urged when Tony didn't say anything more.

Tony hesitated for a moment, but then he rolled his shoulders and released his wings.

Rhodey had been jealous of them the moment he saw them the first time. His own were a deep blue, which was a glorious colour, but Tony's red and gold somehow inspired a feeling of exhilaration and joy in Rhodey.

But now… They were broken, like Tony had said – but not in the way Rhodey had imagined, like cut or twisted, no. They were littered with small holes and burns, some spots lacking any feathers. No wonder Tony didn't want to keep his wings out anymore.

When Rhodey glanced back at Tony's face, he noticed that Tony looked even more shattered and desperate than before. Rhodey's face most likely screamed the horror he felt, so Tony's reaction was probably caused by that. Rhodey hated the idea that he was the one who put that expression there, who made this all worse. He had to fix it.

There was no way to fix it, though. Except perhaps to reassure Tony that even though his wings were broken and his mind maybe a little twisted, it didn't mean that Tony wasn't worth just as much as he was before.

"Tony," Rhodey said quietly, almost in a whisper. "I'm sorry – for not getting you sooner, and for letting them take you in the first place. And – I – Tony, your wings don't define you."

Tony laughed brokenly, throwing his head back before staring at Rhodey desperately again. "I can't use my wings, Rhodey. My goddamn wings! You expect me to be fine with this?"

"No, of course not," Rhodey rushed to assure him. "You have every right to be upset. I just want you to know that I'm not going to think any less of you because of – how they are now, and neither is Pepper."

Tony took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "I know." His expression didn't clear, but his eyes lost some of the desperation and Rhodey counted that as a win.

"Now would be an okay time to get drunk, and maybe have a movie marathon," Rhodey suggested.

Those two things had been their way of handling any kinds of situations since forever, and Rhodey felt like it could do Tony some good to fall into familiar patterns.

Tony just tilted his head, though, and appeared to be thinking hard about something. Rhodey let him, knowing that it was best to just give Tony enough time to finish his thought process whenever he got like that.

"No," Tony said eventually, and Rhodey's eyebrows flew up in surprise. He hadn't honestly even considered the possibility that Tony would say no. "There's something I want to show you instead," Tony continued, and curiosity took the place of Rhodey's surprise.

"Alright," Rhodey said and followed Tony when he started walking across the workshop.

They stopped in front of a worktable of some sort, bits and pieces lying on and around it. Rhodey looked at them consideringly, trying to figure out what they were for but coming up short.

"I'll bite. What is it?" Rhodey asked, turning to look at Tony.

Tony grinned, the first genuinely happy expression Rhodey had seen on him after the rescue on the desert.

"It's a suit," Tony said.

"Last I checked, most suits weren't made of metal," Rhodey commented dubiously, glancing at the metallic pieces.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Obviously it's a special suit." Then he pulled a gauntlet from under a pile of scraps, and put it on his hand. He connected the wires from the piece of armour to his Arc Reactor – and Rhodey almost had a heart attack when he realized what Tony was doing, before also realizing that Tony probably knew what he was doing – and a whirring sound started up.

"What does it do?" Rhodey asked then, curiously observing the gauntlet.

"It's a flight stabilizer," Tony explained, and something clicked in Rhodey's mind.

"You mean –?" he asked, eyes wide with shock and hope.

Tony nodded, his grin widening. Rhodey soon copied his expression, laughing loudly in relief.

Leave it to his best friend to figure out a way to fly without his wings. Building a flying suit of armour seemed exactly the type of thing that Tony would do.

After grinning at each other for a few moments, Tony took his gauntlet off. When that was done, Rhodey finally dared to pull him into a hug – before he was worried that he might have damaged the gauntlet or accidentally made it explode, hurting him and Tony.

Tony froze for a moment, obviously not used to kind physical contact after months of torture, but then he relaxed and hugged Rhodey back. He even buried his face in Rhodey's neck, and Rhodey was pretty sure that it shouldn't have felt quite as amazing as it did.

Tony's wings were still out, too, and slowly Rhodey ran his hands across the base of them, keeping his touch light. Tony shivered but didn't say anything or try to pull away, so Rhodey kept going.

"They're still beautiful," Rhodey whispered to Tony after a while. "Just like you."

And, damn, he hadn't meant to say that last part. But it was true; even though Tony was slightly damaged now, his mind a mess and his wings broken, Tony was still beautiful. The most beautiful man Rhodey had ever met, and would probably ever meet.

"Aw, shucks," Tony said, his breath warm against Rhodey's skin as he let out a laugh. "You're making me blush."

Rhodey chuckled too, wondering what it would be like if Tony didn't always think he was joking. Well, Tony was probably aware that Rhodey was completely serious; he just thought Rhodey meant it in a friendly platonic sort of way, and not in a 'I've been in love with you for years' kind of way.

"Rhodey," Tony said quietly after a couple of minutes had passed, neither letting go of the other in that time.

"Yeah?" Rhodey asked just as quietly, not willing to break whatever weird spell was lingering around them.

"Could you – maybe – would you mind showing me your wings?" Tony asked, causing Rhodey to blink in surprise.

But there were very few things he would deny Tony, and his wings – anything on his person – certainly wasn't on that list.

"Sure," Rhodey said before stepping away, reluctantly letting go of Tony.

He released his wings with barely a thought, spreading them out to all their glory a moment later. Tony was staring at them in captivation and longing, and Rhodey suddenly started to wonder whether it had been a good idea to agree after all.

"Can I touch them?" Tony asked, more hesitantly than he had any right to be; they were both very used to grooming each other's wings.

"Of course," Rhodey said, stepping closer to Tony once again.

Tony started to run his fingers through Rhodey's blue feathers, and Rhodey had to consciously hold back a groan. He had forgotten how skilled Tony was with his hands, as it had been a while since they had last done this. In fact, it had been before Rhodey had realized the extent of his feelings for his best friend.

They were also dangerously close to each other. Tony hadn't moved behind him or asked Rhodey to turn around, so they were still standing face to face as Tony ran his hands over Rhodey's wings.

After a few minutes of quiet grooming slash petting, Rhodey couldn't do it anymore.

"Tony," he said, a little breathlessly, and Tony instantly stopped. Rhodey felt both disappointed and glad; disappointed because that had felt so good, and glad because it had felt too good.

"Sorry," Tony said, and before Rhodey could say that there was nothing to apologize for, Tony continued. "I've just missed – well, this. Us. Whatever. Damn, you're making me all sentimental here, platypus. Enjoy this once in a lifetime occasion."

"Once in a lifetime?" Rhodey teased. "What about that time in London? Or on your 24th birthday? Or when you emptied that cabinet of sake?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tony denied, shaking his head.

Rhodey grinned before sobering up. "I've missed this too. We should make it a regular thing again."

"Except, you know," Tony said bitterly, motioning towards his own wings, "rather one-sided from now on."

"I don't see why," Rhodey said, pretending to be confused as he reached out a hand to Tony's wings again. "I'd rather enjoy grooming you again."

Tony ducked his head, hiding his expression from Rhodey's view, and didn't say anything. Regardless, Rhodey was rather sure that Tony on board with that plan.

He continued petting Tony's wings as he thought. It wasn't exactly unusual for friends to groom each other, but usually that was reserved for romantic partners or family members because of the intimacy involved.

There was no way he was going to be able to restart his grooming sessions with Tony without giving anything away. But he also didn't want to retract his offer, worried that it would make Tony think he didn't want to do it because of the condition Tony's wings were in.

The best solution seemed to be to get it over and done with. Tony might even think he was joking, after all. And even if he didn't, their friendship was strong enough to withstand any awkwardness born out of Rhodey's feelings. Or so he hoped.

"Tony," Rhodey started, pulling his hand back to himself.

"Yes, dear?" Tony asked, lifting his eyebrows and seemingly totally oblivious as to what the use of that nickname did to Rhodey.

"I – well," Rhodey started, interrupting himself and frowning, trying to gather his courage. "I love you – and before you say anything, or make a joke, I'd like to point out that I mean that in a not completely platonic friendly sense."

Tony blinked once, twice, and then his eyes widened and he actually gaped for a moment.

"You – what? Oh my god, I did not see this coming," Tony said, still seemingly in a state of shock.

"I hope this doesn't change anything between us," Rhodey said, suddenly doubting his decision. "I just wanted you to know."

"What? No, no, this changes everything," Tony exclaimed, and then hurriedly continued at Rhodey's upset expression. "No, that's not – damn, I just can't believe – I've been telling you I love you for years, but I never thought – wow. Honeybear, you have me at a loss for words here."

Rhodey tilted his head, a sudden spark of hope lighting inside him. He hadn't thought that there was a chance of Tony returning his feelings, but perhaps…

"You love me too?" Rhodey asked, a hint of humour in his voice but the sentence meant completely seriously.

"Yes," Tony nodded. "Yes, Rhodey, I do love you too, I've been saying it for years, didn't you hear me – eh, never mind, just come here."

And with that, Tony pulled Rhodey into a kiss. Not that Rhodey minded at all. He put one arm around Tony and cradled Tony's head with the other, feeling Tony's hands sneak their way around him in return.

Rhodey didn't let go even when they pulled apart, and instead leant their foreheads against each other. Tony's eyes were closed and a small smile was dancing on his lips, and Rhodey was pretty sure that his own mouth was stretched in a stupidly wide grin.

"So, that happened," Tony said eventually, causing Rhodey to laugh.

"Yes, that happened," he confirmed. "And for the record, I totally love your wings for causing all this."

"Not more than you love me, I hope," Tony said with fluttering eyelashes.

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "They are a part of you, Tones."

"Yeah," Tony said quietly, quickly sobering up. "They are. And maybe they're not so bad after all, even though they can't be used to fly anymore, if they can make this happen."

"You can fly with your mind," Rhodey said, repeating what he had heard someone say once. "Literally, in your case."

Tony grinned, shooting a quick look at the gauntlet lying on the table a few feet away. "True."

Rhodey was so very glad to see Tony smiling again. It meant that Tony was getting better; or, if not getting better, at least opening up again. And Rhodey was very happy that he could help with that.

He should contact Pepper and let her know that Tony would be alright, given some time. But that could wait until later, because right now he wanted focus completely on Tony.

**Author's Note:**

> As an act of shameless self-promotion, if you're into Rhodey & Tony friendship as well, I have a fic [Accidental Presidential Elections](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5124821) that's all about their awesomeness. There's also Pepper (it's with a side dish of Pepperony) and her awesomeness as well. (They're all awesome. I have feels about their (b)romances.)
> 
> Reviews are very much appreciated!


End file.
